


Torn Loose

by Burgie



Series: LivxStein AU [1]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 15:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11466828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: One of Liv's horses gets loose. Fluff ensues. Liv belongs to liv-opalborn on tumblr.





	Torn Loose

Liv was a little alarmed when she came back to Jorvik Stables to see chaos. It wasn’t the Sunfield hens (this time, maybe they’d listened when Liv had threatened to wring their scrawny chicken necks if they escaped again), nor was it the usual chaos kicked up by Stein making a mistake. No, this time, there was a horse loose. Her horse.

“Oh boy,” said Liv, slowing the horse she was riding. She’d just gone into Jarlaheim to meet up with some friends at the café, she hadn’t been gone that long.

“Come back here! Oh, please, I don’t want you to get hurt! How will I explain things to your owner?” Stein called as he chased the horse around the stable yard. He finally managed to corner it between the fence and the gateway leading to the arena, but then it suddenly reared and bolted down there.

“What happened here?” asked Liv as she walked over to the distressed stable boy.

“Ah! Liv! I’m so sorry, I wanted to get this under control before you got back,” said Stein, his face bright pink with embarrassment and frustration. Blushes were so visible on him, because his skin was so pale.

“How did he even get out?” asked Liv, watching the horse run around the arena. At least the horse market wasn’t there, it was somewhere else this week.

“Oh, that was my fault,” said Stein, putting down the bridle that he’d been trying to catch the horse with. “I took him out to have a look at his hooves because I noticed that he was walking funny, but then he just bolted as soon as I picked up his hoof.”

“Maybe it’s sore,” said Liv. “So he should really stop running around like that. I’ll go get him.”

“Are you sure?” asked Stein. “Horses can be unpredictable when they’re scared or injured.”

“Yeah, I’m his rider, he’ll listen to me,” said Liv. “You don’t need to worry about me, Stein.” She kissed his hot cheek, then picked up the bridle and a carrot and walked down to the arena.

It was actually quite easy for Liv to convince her horse to be bridled, and then it was the work of an instant to clip a lead rope onto his bridle and lead him back up to the stable. He was definitely lame in one hoof, barely putting it down. Liv hoped that it was nothing serious, but at least it didn’t appear to be bleeding.

“You have a gift,” said Stein when Liv got back, but he saw the worried look on Liv’s face and dropped the lighthearted tone. “I’ll go get the vet.”

“At least there’s one close by,” said Liv, rubbing her horse’s nose. “C’mon, boy, can I look at your hoof?” Maybe it just needed cleaning. Her horse didn’t look like he wanted to lift his hoof, but eventually he did. Liv carefully inspected it, being careful to be gentle so that she didn’t hurt him any further. The hoof appeared to be cracked, and Liv furrowed her brow as she fussed over it.

“Is this the horse?” asked the familiar voice of the vet, and Liv set the hoof down gently and nodded, turning to the vet.

“His hoof looks cracked,” said Liv. “I hope it’s nothing too serious.”

“Let me have a look,” said the vet. She picked up the hoof while Stein took Liv’s hand, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Thanks for noticing it,” said Liv. “I have a lot of horses so it’s easy to overlook one.”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I take your horses out and exercise them every day so I noticed it when I went to fetch him today,” said Stein. “I hope I didn’t do anything to him.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t anything you did,” said Liv, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. “Sometimes these things just happen.”

“Aha, here’s the problem,” said the vet, drawing their attention.

“What is it?” asked Liv, stepping closer to her horse.

“He’s thrown a shoe,” said the vet. “And see, here? His hoof has cracked here because he’s been a little too rough on it.”

“Oh no,” said Stein. “I should’ve noticed.”

“No, I should’ve noticed, he’s my horse,” said Liv. “Poor baby.”

“Don’t worry, he just needs to rest it a little and I’ll give you some paste to put on it to repair the crack,” said the vet. “And he needs to be exercised more. Also, be sure to check the hooves of all of your horses daily so we can catch it before it gets worse in the future.”

“I will,” said Liv.

“And I will if you don’t have time,” said Stein.

“Between the two of you, I’m sure this horse will make a full recovery,” said the vet, smiling at them.

“Thank you,” said Liv. “And thank you, Stein, for noticing.”

“Just doing my job as a good stable boy and boyfriend,” said Stein.

After Liv paid the vet, she sat with Stein in the hay loft of her stable and watched her injured horse eat his food. She’d decided to spoil him with some treats to make up for neglecting him.

“What would I do without you?” said Liv, resting her head on Stein’s shoulder while she held his hand. Their legs hung over the edge of the hay loft, swinging idly.

“And what would I do without you?” said Stein. “You’ve managed to convince my lazy butt to do more work around here.” Liv laughed and kissed him.

“Well, someone had to do it,” said Liv, her eyes twinkling. She looked back down at her horse, happy that it had all turned out well.


End file.
